NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday extended the facility of restriction free imports of refined palm oil beyond December 31, 2022 till further orders, a move aimed at increasing domestic supplies and bring down prices of cooking oils.
In June last year, the government removed import restrictions on refined palm oil till December 31, 2021 as prices of edible oils had risen sharply. Later, it was extend till December 31, 2022.
"The free import policy of items (refined bleached deodorised palm oil, refined bleached deodorised palmolein) is extended beyond December 31, 2022 until further orders," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.
It, however, added that the import is not permitted through any port in Kerala.
Earlier, these imports were under the restricted category wherein an importer needed a licence or permission from DGFT for inbound shipments.
According to the industry body Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), India saw more than two-and-a-half times increase in import of refined palm oil at 17.12 lakh tonne in the last 11 months due to lower prices in Indonesia.
India, the world's leading vegetable oil buyer, imported 130.1 lakh tonne of vegetable oils during the November-September period of the ongoing 2021-22 oil year, 4 per cent higher than the year-ago period.
Palm oil shipments comprise 50 per cent of the total vegetable oil imports.
India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, and a small quantity of crude soft oil, including soyabean oil from Argentina. Sunflower oil is imported from Ukraine and Russia.
In a separate notification, DGFT said that the free import policy of urad and tur stand extended up to March 31, 2024.